SEC urges pseudo investors to regularise, assures no penalty in complying

Mary Uduk, the acting director general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has assured investors who had bought shares in different names and involved in pseudos transactions that they would not be penalize if they come forward to regularise their accounts.

To this end, she urged investors who bought shares of the same company using different names during public offers to take advantage of the extended deadline till December 31, 2018, adding that consolidating multiple subscriptions into a single account simply requires taking the share certificates to any stockbroker, registrar or bank branches where these shares were bought to regularise their shareholding.

“If you have bought shares with different names and we have been unable to identify you, come and regularise to collect back your shares, there is no punishment attached to it,” Uduk said.

Reiterating the objectives of regularisation, Isyaku Tilde, Ag executive commissioner operations, SEC explained that regularisation will further increase liquidity in the market.

“Those shares are stuck, as there is no trading on them,” he said. Adding that non- regularised accounts keep adding to the bulk of unclaimed dividends every year.

“When these investors come forward and become regularised, there will be an increase in trading in those shares and they will also be able to claim their past dividends, thereby reducing the balance of unclaimed dividends in the system,” Tilde stated.

Intimating investors with achievements recorded by the Commission in the past quarter, the SEC noted that the renovation of five warehouses by the Nigerian Commodities Exchange (NCX) in preparation for commodities trading has been completed.

The SEC also concluded about 30 cases at the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST) from a backlog of over 50 cases and engaged in an aggressive use of various social media platforms to boost financial literacy campaigns such as the creation and deployment of a oneminute financial literacy video on YouTube.

Other achievements recorded during the quarter include the commencement of modalities to introduce the IST law reports, implementation of the recommendations of the commodities trading ecosystem in phases, from 2018 to 2025 and an increase in the number of shareholders who have mandated their accounts for E-Dividend payments to 2.55million.

On resolutions to tackle key issues bordering on the development of the capital market, the commission said it would constitute a marketwide Financial Technology (FINTECH) committee to develop a FINTECH framework for the Nigerian capital market.

In addition, the committee agreed to sensitise and obtain relevant email addresses of shareholders at every annual general meeting on the essence of saving cost by electronic distribution of annual reports, while physical delivery still goes on.

The SEC also advised trade group associations who are yet to register with the Commission to register immediately, while the Capital Market Operators (CMOs) are expected to register with their respective trade group associations on or before December 31, 2018.